High-Speed London to Paris Rail Link Opens On Time

After nine years of construction and over $11.5 billion investment, the U.K.’s high-speed link to the Channel Tunnel carried its inaugural train on Sept. 3. The train, traveling at speeds up to 320 kilometers per hour, made the Paris-London journey in a record-breaking 123 minutes. Now named HS1, the 109-km London-tunnel line will open for business on Nov. 14, on time and on budget, says the owner, London Continental Railways. The project was designed and managed by the Rail Link Engineering consortium of Arup Group, Bechtel Inc., Halcrow Group and Systra S.A.